It incurred the relocation of the people there to nearby towns, but they were very well-compensated, and in fact the costs for relocation were greater than building the telescope itself. They moved from villages without running water or electricity to nice apartments.
Is there a source for this?
The articles I originally read were Chinese language (translated to English using Google Translate) and I'm having trouble finding them now.
Looking up more info about Pingtang county will probably yield more good info.